#bookseries – Page 49 – Rosepoint Publishing

Alley Katz (Dev Haskell-Private Investigator Book 27) by Mike Faricy – #BookReview – #noir #readingirelandmonth21

Rosepoint Publishing: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

Dev Haskell is running late for dinner at his girlfriends house when he rear ends a car in the parking lot. Small world, the car is driven by a Dev’s former high school English teacher. . In lieu of paying for damages Dev agrees to work Tuesday and Thursday evenings helping kids with homework. From there he ends up searching for an art forger with ties to local crime lord, Tubby Gustafson.

Along the way he’s beat up by a petit woman in a thong, searches for a missing boy… Oh, and he sets a homeless kid on a career path.

Another hilariously delightful Dev Haskell tale.

A wonderful read to remind you that, actually, your life is pretty good!

As always, Morton, Dev’s Golden Retriever, provides a dose of sanity.

His Review:

Dev Haskell is a brow beaten gumshoe! Two fat mobsters push him around like an unwanted relative at a family gathering. Who would want to hire Mr. Milk Toast? This is a perfect primer for anyone who aspires to be a private detective.

Taylor Cummins is a young man who cannot get away from a toxic childhood quick enough. He is discovered in a locked school attempting to keep from freezing to death in a cold Minnesota winter. Dev’s delinquent school years have prepared him and he is enlisted to assist with students who are ne’re-do-wells!

The story develops well and a relationship of convenience develops into a feel-good story of overcoming a difficult childhood. Taylor is a gifted artist who is totally unknown. Dev meets him as a school counselor and takes him under his wing. He helps to pull Taylor out of his shell with the help of Annette, an art curator. She recognizes the potential in Taylor.

Mike Faricy has put together a fun read and two very believable characters. The book is a tad short but certainly does not disappoint. The ending is satisfying if not a little fanciful. Read this novel and enjoy the experience. 5 stars- CE Williams

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author. These are my unbiased opinions.

Book Details:

Genre: Noir Crime, Private Investor Mysteries

ASIN : B08P7ZBHRX

Print Length: 265 pages
Publication Date: December 27 2020
Source: Direct author request
Title Link: Author request-Alley Katz [Amazon]

The Author: Mike Faricy was awarded the 2016 IACM Silver Award for Best Mystery Author. His books have held the #1 slot in the Kindle Store in the US, UK, Australia, Canada, and India. Mike Faricy was listed as the IACM Author of the Month for April 2018. His Dev Haskell tale, The Office, was a finalist for the 2018 Minnesota Book Awards and the 2018 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award. He was awarded the Crime Masters of America Poison Cup Award in January of 2019. His Dev Haskell tale, Star Struck, was a mystery finalist for the 2019 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award.

The Dirty Lowdown called Mike Faricy America’s hottest new mystery writer.
Robert Carraher referred to him as Minnesota’s Master of the Bizarre.
Crime Scene referred to him as the next Carl Hiaasen.
Crime Capers said; “Open at your own risk, you won’t put him down.”
UnderCover wrote; “This guy is nuts and one hell of a lot of fun.”
The Irish Gazette referred to; “The laugh a minute storylines of Faricy’s deliciously engaging worlds.”

Mike’s Dev Haskell series books are stand-alone, they can be read in any order. His Corridor Man series was initially written under the pseudonym Nick James and should be read in order. His Jack Dillon Dublin Tales series was originally written under the pseudonym, Patrick Emmett. His Hotshot series are standalone tales that can be read in any order. Faricy’s novels are filled with the sort of oddballs we’re all curious about, but wisely prefer to keep at a distance. His characters serve not so much as an example as they do a warning. None of them will be saving the world from terrorism, international banking conspiracies or coups to take over the government. Rather, Faricy’s characters inhabit a world just below the surface of polite society. The circumstances they find themselves in are usually due to their own bad decisions, but then bad decisions make for interesting stories.

Reminiscent of the late Robert B. Parker, Faricy’s tightly woven Dev Haskell series is penned with a delightful sense of humor and even some romance. Entertainment is the name of the game as back-slapping, corner-cutting, babe magnet Dev Haskell interacts with such quirky characters as ice cream mogul Mr. Swirlee, The D’Angelo brothers, local crime lord Tubby Gustafson, ‘Fat Freddie’ Zimmerman, former NFL tight end Luscious Dixon, exotic dancer Swindle Lawless, and gorgeous Heidi Bauer. The Dev Haskell novels can be read in any order.

Faricy’s Corridor Man series was originally released under the pen name Nick James. The series is a bit more gritty than the Dev Haskell series and a lot more violent. Disbarred attorney Bobby Custer makes his way back into the legal game. He’s neurotic, psychotic, psychopathic, narcissistic, greedy, unprincipled and . . . always charming.

Faricy’s Jack Dillon Dublin Tales series was originally released under the pen name Patrick Emmett. US Marshal Jack Dillon is sent to Dublin to escort a prisoner back to the US. Things don’t go exactly as planned and trouble ensues. Dillon becomes permanently stationed in Dublin, just to get him out of his boss’s hair. Things take an entertaining turn from there, think of a cross between Dev Haskell and James Bond.

Faricy’s Hotshot series are zany, delightfully entertaining standalone crime tales.
Enjoy the reads!

Originally from Saint Paul, Minnesota, Faricy still spends six months of the year in the saintly city as well as six months in Dublin, Ireland. Thanks for taking the time and be sure to tell 2-300 of your closest friends.

Mike’s Links:

Visit Mike on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MikeFaricyBooks
Visit Dev Haskell’s Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/DevHaskell
Email Mike” mikefaricyauthor@gmail.com
Follow Mike on Twitter @mikefaricybooks
Mike’s web site; http://www.mikefaricybooks.com

Vagabond Wind (Bold Women of the 19th Century Series Book 2) by Amanda Hughes – #BookReview – #historicalfiction – #TBT

“…a vagabond wind—a wind that brings change.”

Book Blurb:

Wild and hard-hearted, Zya Lazar is reckless with her life. Raised by the Romani, she rides with gypsy marauders terrorizing settlers across Virginia. Relishing the violence, the young woman seems hell-bent on destruction until a series of events opens her eyes. Retreating to the mountains, Zya finds a more peaceful existence, but it does not last. Another vortex of violence is brewing, and it is the American Civil War. Joining a group of Confederate partisans on the fringe of the fight, Zya and eight men wage their own kind of war in the mountains of Virginia. Captain Davis Wyndham has a dangerous plan, and Zya finds herself putting not only her life but her heart on the line for the enigmatic commander.
Once again Amanda Hughes splashes the pages with gritty adventure and love stories about audacious women in the past. Her page-turning tales will keep you on the edge of your seat as you take wild rides through dramatic and dazzling periods of history.

My Review:

In a radical change of pace, one of my favorite authors, Amanda Hughes, develops a strong and exotic woman in this novel about the civil war. It is the fleshing of a five year old abducted from her “Melungeon” family (Indian, African, and Portuguese) and raised with a band of Romani. By the time she is fourteen, her Romani uncle has married her to one of his sons and trained her in the art of raiding and stealing. The gypsy band ranges over western Virginia until Zya knows the mountains like the back of her hand.

Zya is capable and independent and when her husband is killed in a skirmish, simply carries on. She enjoys the raids, the excitement, until one ends in the violent death of a young girl that has her reassessing the role her uncle has given her and eventually ends in her flight from the band.

She survives on her own in the mountains until defending herself lands her in jail.

Avoiding a lengthy sentence in prison, she agrees to scout for Captain Davis Wyndham. All the experience of traveling the mountains, survival, and independence serves both she and the band of eight that includes Wyndham when they progress to hit and runs in the war between the North and South. The special missions are accomplished with a group of eclectic men each harboring a highly specialized talent.

Her irregular tactical soldiers build quite the reputation for themselves against the railroad with their interruption of payroll, supplies, and materiel destined for the Yankees. The setting of movement, conditions, and spies is immersive in detail and draws you into the war. Whether you initially liked Zya or not, you are gradually drawn to the character as she progresses through the well-plotted and paced storyline.

An explosive and brilliant battle scene at the climax—satisfying conclusion. The reversal of the protagonist from unlikable to respected is an interesting and unique departure from the norm. A history buff, Civil War buff or not, you’ll appreciate learning more of the conditions, the strategies, the area, and the people. Thoroughly engaging and entertaining. Highly recommended.

Rosepoint Rating: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Military Romance, Historical Fiction

ASIN : B015NGF8E8
ISBN : 1517077842

Print Length: 345 pages
Publication Date: September 19, 2015
Source: Request to author

Title Link: Vagabond Wind [Amazon]

The Author: Bestselling and award-winning author, Amanda Hughes is a “Walter Mitty”, spending more time in heroic daydreams than the real world. At last, she found an outlet writing adventures about bold women through the centuries. Well known for her genre-busting books, she is the winner of the Gems National Medal for Writing, featured in USA Today and is nominated for the 2017 Minnesota Book Award. Amanda is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, and when she isn’t off tilting windmills, she lives and writes in Minnesota. Don’t miss these page-turning novels for readers who like historical fiction with a just bit of a love story. All of her books are stand-alone and can be read in any order.

The Bold Women of the 17th Century: The Firefly Witch Book 1

The Bold Women Series of the 18th Century: Beyond the Cliffs of Kerry Book 1 The Pride of the King Book 2 The Sword of the Banshee Book 3

The Bold Women Series of the 19th Century: The Grand Masquerade Book 1 Vagabond Wind Book 2 The House of Five Fortunes Book 3

The Bold Women Series of the 20th Century: The Looking Glass Goddess Book 1

Interested in her new books or a free novelette? Go to http://www.amandahughesauthor.com

Last Port of Call: The Queenstown Series by Jean Grainger – #BookReview – Historical Irish Fiction #readingirelandmonth21

#1 Best Seller Historical Irish Fiction

Book Blurb:

Queenstown, County Cork, Ireland
April 1912

Twelve-year-old Harp Delaney is an unusual child, quiet and intelligent far beyond her years. She would rather spend her days in the library of the grand Georgian house that she sees as her home than playing on the streets with other children.

Her mother, Rose, is the reserved and ladylike housekeeper at the Cliff House. The local women envy her grace and poise while the men admire her beauty. She behaves not as a servant should, but as someone who belongs at the ancestral home of eccentric loner Henry Devereaux.

Nobody ever visits the Cliff House, but Harp, Rose and Henry have a happy life together, each accepting the idiosyncrasies of the others.

The day Titanic sails from Queenstown, taking with it the hopes and dreams of so many, Harp’s life too is devastated. The small port town is shaken to its foundations at the loss of the unsinkable ship, but the revelation of a long-held secret means that Harp and Rose have a much more pressing issue to solve, one that could destroy them if they cannot find a solution.

Unexpectedly, fate takes a hand, and mother and daughter find themselves thrown a lifeline, one that inextricably links them to the stories of men, women and children for whom Queenstown was the last-ever sight of Ireland as they sailed away to new lands and new lives.

Last Port of Call is the first book in The Queenstown Series.

My Review:

Those of you who have a problem reading a book in the middle of the series should be delighted to learn that this is the first in a new series by the masterful Irish storyteller Jean Grainger. Now is your chance to get in on the bottom rung—don’t say I didn’t warn you as this is already a #1 Best Seller on Amazon. There is a reason for that.

The author delights in describing her Ireland, the people, the culture, and its famous landmarks and it shows in her prose. While I must admit that the first portion of this book begins slow and includes some repetition, there is the full fleshing of Rose, the housekeeper and her 12 year old daughter, Harp, as well as the explanation of their occupancy of the grand Georgian mansion known as Cliff House. The multi-story mansion sits high above the Queenstown Bay and the entire harbor commanding a magnificent view. It is the last port of call for the Titanic (of the White Star line) before she leaves on the fateful journey that still creates chills more than a century after sinking.

The story of Harp and Rose is described as they care for the aging owner, Henry Devereaux, and the shock of his passing. Henry, a benevolent eccentric leaves the decaying mansion to Harp with whom he’d enjoyed a very unusual relationship. Along the way, we learn fascinating new tidbits about the land (fairy ring forts, castles, and Phoenicians).

Saved from being turned out into the street, they must now devise a way to stay in the old house. And then Rose has an idea. She and Harp will open a guest house. Their first guests are comprised of a wide variety of Irish, each with a story of their own, and as we get to know each individual, invest in their hopes and dreams.

The stories are immersive, gentle or suspect, and pull at the emotions. Somehow, the author manages a perfect resolution for each. However, there is one thread introduced early that is not revisited until the conclusion resulting in a cliff hanger (!). Book #2 of the series is scheduled for release the third week of May, 2021.

“…speculation based on no information whatsoever was pointless.”

I have read many books written by this prolific author, some prior to posting reviews, several as standalones, some in series: Robinswood, The Tour, and the Conor O’Shea series. I considered many were five star novels, including The Star and the Shamrock, Return to Robinswood, Trials and Tribulations, and The Homecoming of Bubbles O’Leary. Her characters are always engaging and relatable, the stories entertaining, and most unique in their plots and pacing. This is a great start to a new series. In for a penny, in for a pound. (Or is it ha’penny?) If you missed Ms Grainger’s Soda Bread recipe, you can find that page here.

Rosepoint Rating: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Historical Irish Fiction, Saga Fiction, Family Saga Fiction

ASIN : B08RS885CH
ISBN : B08WZJK285

Print Length: 476 pages
Publication Date: February 26, 2021
Source: Direct Purchase
Title: Last Port of Call [Amazon]

The Author: JEAN GRAINGER, USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR,
SELECTED BY BOOKBUB READERS IN TOP 19 OF HISTORICAL FICTION BOOKS,
WINNER OF THE 2016 AUTHOR’S CIRCLE HISTORICAL NOVEL OF EXCELLENCE

I have worked as a history lecturer at University, a teacher of English, History and Drama in secondary school, a playwright, and a tour guide of my beloved Ireland. I am married to the lovely Diarmuid and we have four children. We live in a 150 year old stone cottage in Mid-Cork with my family and the world’s smallest dog, a chi-chon called Scrappy-Do.

My experiences leading groups, mainly from the United States, led me to write my first novel, ‘The Tour’. My observances of the often funny, sometimes sad but always interesting events on tours fascinated me. People really did confide the most extraordinary things, the safety of strangers I suppose. It’s a fictional story set on a tour bus but many of the characters are based on people I met over the years.

Truncated…

Many of the people who have reviewed my books have said that you get to know the characters and really become attached to them, that’s wonderful for me to hear because that’s how I feel about them too. I grew up on Maeve Binchy and Deirdre Purcell and I aspired to being like them. If you buy one of my books I’m very grateful and I really hope you enjoy it. If you do, or even if you don’t, please take the time to post a review. Writing is a source of constant contentment to me and I am so fortunate to have the time and the inclination to do it, but to read a review written by a reader really does make my day.

Find Ms Grainger at her official website or Facebook page.

First Love: The Erin O’Reilly K-9 Mysteries Book 10 by Steven Henry – BookReview – #policeprocedural #readingirelandmonth21 #TuesdayBookBlog

“May the good saints protect us and bless us today, and may troubles ignore us each step of the way.”

Book Blurb:

A young woman is strangled in her bed. The door is smashed in and the apartment ransacked. Is this a robbery gone wrong? A random attack? A jealous lover? Or a serial killer? It’s up to Detective Erin O’Reilly, her K-9 Rolf, and the rest of her Major Crimes squad to find out the truth before anyone else dies.

It’s a simple case; or is it? Erin has been able to keep an uneasy balance between her personal and work lives. She’s always known it was risky to let herself fall for a gangster. But now, she and her boyfriend, smooth-talking Irishman Morton Carlyle, find themselves drawn into a situation in which the only escape is for the two of them to choose a side and take a stand. Jealousy and betrayal are in the air. Who do you trust when your lover could be your enemy?

My Review:

I got hooked on this series with Books 1 and 2, Black Velvet and Irish Car Bomb, and fell in love with the dog, Rolf and Erin O’Reilly, a very strong NY traditional Irish cop following in her dad’s footsteps. She has been now been promoted to detective in Major Crimes. She had a special guy I was rooting for that didn’t work. Now her interest is an immigrant Irishman with a history who runs a bar. Unfortunately, Carlyle is a mid-level organized crime associate of the O’Malley Irish mob. Her involvement with him creates somewhat of a quandary for her.

Topping this episode is the death of a young woman whose apartment is made to look like a botched robbery and the crew jumps all too easily on a guy witnessed in the building before; my first quibble. Rolf has a small contribution to this storyline, my second, as I love the scenes with these powerful working canines. As with all police procedurals, there are the associates, supervisors, good and bad, who make for interesting support characters, as well as Carlyle’s driver/bodyguard, Ian.

The sub-plot then comes to the fore as the initial crime is solved and the storyline goes a bit off the rails. I can’t say too much here as it would only add spoilers. Book 10, however, exploded into a hurried conclusion resulting in a cliff hanger. Book 11, High Stakes, will be coming out the end of March this year.

Much as I like the character of Erin, it seems she is being steered into a double direction, although she’ll continue to perform her K-9 partnering duties with Rolf. Still, I’m torn.

Rosepoint Rating: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Police Procedurals, Women Sleuths
Publisher: Clickworks Press

ASIN : B08PS3VWJ8

Print Length: 213 pages
Publication Date: December 18, 2020

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Steven Henry is the USA Today bestselling author of the Erin O’Reilly mysteries and the Clarion Chronicles. He learned how to read almost before he learned how to walk. Ever since he began reading stories, he wanted to put his own on the page. He lives a very quiet and ordinary life in Minnesota with his wife and dog.

Long Island Iced Tina (A Catering Hall Mystery Book 2) by Maria DiRico #BlogTour #BookReview #cozymystery #Giveaway

I am so delighted today to provide a review for you at my blog stop for Long Island Iced Tina by Maria DiRico on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour. Scroll down to enter your chance to win the Giveaway!

Long Island Iced Tina tour banner

Book Details

Long Island Iced Tina (A Catering Hall Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Publisher: Kensington (February 23, 2021)
Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
ISBN-10: 1496725352
ISBN-13: 978-1496725356
Digital ASIN: B089NCJ9NS

Book Blurb

Mia Carina is back in the borough of Queens—in charge of the family catering hall, Belle View Banquet Manor, and keeping her nonna company. But some events—like murder—are not the kind you can schedule . . .

Mia’s newly pregnant friend Nicole plans to hold a shower at Belle View—but Nicole also has to attend one that her competitive (and mysteriously rich) stepmother, Tina, is throwing at the fanciest place in Queens. It’s a good chance for Mia to snoop on a competitor, especially since doing a search for “how to run a catering hall” can get you only so far.

Mia tags along at the lavish party, but the ambience suffers at Nicole’s Belle View shower when a fight breaks out—and then, oddly, a long-missing and valuable stolen painting is unwrapped by the mom-to-be. Tina is clearly shocked to see it. But not as shocked as Mia is when, soon afterward, she spots the lifeless body of a party guest floating in the marina . . .

Italian recipes included!

My Review

The second in the Catering Hall Mystery series, Long Island Iced Tina again sees main character Mia Carina striving the save her friend and family from a very suspicious murder and a complex storyline embroiled in a decades old art theft. Mia is no ordinary manager of a catering hall in Queens, however, as she is a daughter of a mob lieutenant trying to go straight with his work in this legitimate business. Mia has grown up in the “Family” and with her dad, still maintains connections.

A lot going on in Book 2 with the main plot, the murder of Tina, while Mia continues to wrestle with the remaining question of her ex, as well as keeping friendship with Jaimie who she values as possibly proceeding from their early high school romance to friendship and back again to romance. The problem is that he has found a girl possibly suited more closely to his needs and goals.

Mia is living with her grandmother while retaining close ties to her Italian family, the business, the food, and the support. Her grandmother is embroiled in her own wacky goals employing Mia by plying her with food.

“…Italian funeral…’They’re just like your WASPy ones but with more crying and better food.’”

Mia has a ginger Abyssinian cat she named Doorstop (perfect!) and a parakeet. Her father hired the grandson of a mob family to help at the banquet manor in a subtle exchange of favors, but Benjy is not the enthusiastic staff member of their dreams. Her very pregnant friend Nicole has managed to whittle her showers down to two, the first being Tina’s excessive show at the Versailles and the unhappy ending of Tina at Mia’s shower in the Belle View Banquet Manor in Queens.

I love that Mia is so embroiled in her tight Italian family and speaks with her close relatives in Italian as easily as English. The family works hard together with obvious love and support for each other and the writing style weighs heavily in their inherited sense of humor, their love of the city, and their shared history. Mia has never learned to drive, so her mode of travel if not her ten speed is cabs and rides and maybe she should stick to those.

Nice to have a bit of backstory to bring the reader up to speed, but this could be read as a standalone as bits and pieces of history are dropped into the investigation and Mia’s interviews that she’s really quite adept at, gleaning little clues that lead to further gains.

The conclusion is probably where you’d expect it to go and leads to the introduction of a possible new romance (thumbs down on that one). I feel that eventually we’ll get the story of what really happened to the ex as I’ve thought all along he didn’t die. The well-plotted and paced mystery settles in to a fun read and curiosity over where the author will take us next. I read Book 1, Here Comes the Body, and I’ll be looking for Book 3.

Giveaway

Sign up for your chance to win one of three print copies of Long Island Iced Tina by Maria DiRico—US only—on this Rafflecopter giveaway

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

About the Author

Maria DiRico is the pseudonym for Ellen Byron, author of the award winning, USA Today bestselling Cajun Country Mysteries. Born in Queens, New York, she is first-generation Italian-American on her mother’s side and the granddaughter of a low-level Jewish mobster on her father’s side. She grew up visiting the Astoria Manor and Grand Bay Marina catering halls, which were run by her Italian mother’s family in Queens and have become the inspiration for her Catering Hall Mystery Series. DiRico has been a writer-producer for hit television series like Wings and Just Shoot Me, and her first play, Graceland, appears in the Best Short Plays collection. She’s a freelance journalist, with over 200 articles published in national magazines, and previously worked as a cater-waiter for Martha Stewart, a credit she never tires of sharing. A native New Yorker who attended Tulane University, Ellen lives in Los Angeles with her husband, daughter, and two rescue dogs.

Website – https://www.ellenbyron.com/catering-hall-mysteries

Chicks on the Case – http://chicksonthecase.net/

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/CateringHallMysteries/

Twitter – https://twitter.com/ellenbyronla

Purchase Links – Amazon – B&N – Kobo – Google Play – IndieBound

Thank you for visiting my stop on the tour and please visit the other stops listed below!

Tour Participants:

March 1 – Baroness Book Trove – REVIEW

March 1 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

March 1 – Novel Alive – SPOTLIGHT

March 2 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW

March 2 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT

March 2 – Brianne’s Book Reviews – REVIEW

March 3 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW, EXCERPT

March 3 – This Is My Truth Now – REVIEW, RECIPE

March 3 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

March 4 – I’m All About Books – SPOTLIGHT

March 4 – ebook addicts – SPOTLIGHT, RECIPE

March 5 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – GUEST POST

March 5 – Read Your Writes Book Reviews – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

March 5 – Cassidy’s Bookshelves – SPOTLIGHT

March 6 – Ruff Drafts – SPOTLIGHT, RECIPE

March 6 – Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT, EXCERPT

March 7 – Rosepoint Publishing – REVIEW

March 7 – StoreyBook Reviews – SPOTLIGHT, RECIPE

March 7 – I Read What You Write – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

March 8 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW

March 8 – Literary Gold – CHARACTER GUEST POST

March 9 – Reading, Writing & Stitch-Metic – SPOTLIGHT, EXCERPT

March 9 – Novels Alive – REVIEW

March 9 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

March 10 – Socrates Book Reviews – REVIEW

March 10 – Author Elena Taylor’s Blog – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

March 10 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW

March 10 – Island Confidential – SPOTLIGHT

Thanks to Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours for the opportunity to read and review this cozy mystery!

Murder in an Irish Bookshop (An Irish Village Mystery Book 7) by Carlene O’Connor – a #BookReview – #cozymystery

“…in a murder inquiry everyone needs to be treated guilty until proven innocent.”

MY Third CONTRIBUTION TO THE #BEGORRAHTHON.

Book Blurb:

Between training the new town garda and trying to set a wedding date with her fiancé, Macdara Flannery, Siobhán O’Sullivan is feeling a bit overwhelmed. She’s looking forward to visiting the new bookshop and curling up with an exciting novel—only to discover the shelves contain nothing but Literature with a capital L. The owner not only refuses to stock romances, mysteries, and science fiction, but won’t even let customers enter his store unless they can quote James Joyce or Sean Hennessey.

Despite the owner deliberately limiting his clientele, he’s hosting a reading and autographing event featuring up and coming Irish writers who will be taking up residency in Kilbane for a month. Among them is indie author Deirdre Walsh, who spends more time complaining about the unfairness of the publishing industry and megastar bestsellers instead of her own creative works, causing a heated debate among the writers. She seems to have a particular distaste for the novels of Nessa Lamb.

Then Deirdre’s body is found the next day in the back of the store—with pages torn from Nessa’s books stuffed in her mouth. Now, Siobhán must uncover which of Kilbane’s literary guests took Deirdre’s criticisms so personally they’d engage in foul play.

My Review:

I do enjoy this series with protagonist Garda Siobhan O’Sullivan in the small village of Kilbane, County Cork, Ireland. Book 7 has the little town all excited over the opening of a new bookshop and as the owners have been rather private about it, pushed the buzz to a new level. Unfortunately, opening day finds a body near the bookshop, a real buzz kill…followed later by a second inside the shop during a storm blackout.

The new bookshop owners Padraig and Oran McCarthy had invited a host of well-known writers as well as an agent to help celebrate the opening, and now they as well as several of the townspeople are suspects as well.

Garda O’Sullivan is partnered with her betrothed, Detective Sergeant Macdara Flannery, as well as a new recruit, on hand to observe and learn. The investigation is as twisted as the manner of death—a new one to me. That is, not the agent, but the method of application—very unique! Lots of secrets, revealed in bits and pieces along with the red herrings.

Siobhan is part of the O’Sullivan Six, brothers and sisters in her care who are gradually growing up even as Siobhan turns another birthday—an important one. Maybe it’s time to set the date with Mac, but theirs is a very laid back relationship and she doesn’t seem to be feeling that biological clock ticking away quite yet. They do have a good working relationship but she’s still a bit of a mystery to me. I like the character of Mac, and what little I’ve gleaned of her siblings, though there is not a lot of development of the support characters, including those of the village.

That Irish sense of humor shines through in the prose, the dialogue, while the descriptions of the weather and the village paint a somewhat dreary picture. I’m cheered when she gets out her little pink Vespa—a sunny day. The back and forth between Siobhan and Mac and the identical twins Emma and Eileen Curley is a hoot as is the discussion of “No crying in the baseball,” and the side knowledge of books, authors, and writing styles shines throughout the book in little quotes and clues. I snickered every time I read about John Butler, owner of Butler’s Undertaker, Lounge, and Pub. At least you didn’t have to go very far…snort.

The mystery is not a hard one to solve, but as always, it’s the ride not the destination and these are always a fun ride. I also read Books 4, 5, and 6, Murder in an Irish Pub, Murder in an Irish Cottage, and Murder at an Irish Christmas and have enjoyed them all. Always an enlightening peek into life in Kilbane, atmospheric and entertaining.

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley. These are my honest thoughts.

Rosepoint Rating: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Cozy Craft & Hobby Mysteries, International Mystery & Crime
Publisher: Kensington Books

ASIN : B089NDHR36

Print Length: 258 Pages
Publication Date: February 23, 2021
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Carlene O’Connor comes from a long line of Irish storytellers. Her great-grandmother emigrated from Ireland to America during the Troubles, and the stories have been flowing ever since. Of all the places across the pond she’s wandered, she fell most in love with a walled town in County Limerick and was inspired to create the town of Kilbane, County Cork. Carlene currently divides her time between New York and the Emerald Isle.

http://www.carleneoconnor.com

2021 V Williams

Mainely Money (A Goff Langdon Mainely Mystery Book 3) by Matt Cost – a #BookReview – #mysteries

Book Blurb:

Money is power. Those who have the money wield the power. Laid back, slacker detective Goff Langdon is confronted by this fact as he investigates the blackmailing of a U.S. senator. What starts as a simple extortion case quickly becomes a race for survival as Langdon faces off against a veiled villain with big money and little morals.

My Review:

The third in the trilogy sees a number of changes in this series featuring private detective Goff Langdon. Goff is tickled to be hired for not one, but three investigations, none of which fall into his norm. Goff is still owner of the Coffee Dog Bookstore and between he and his wife Chabal and Jack (her son) share the duties. The private investigations run in fits and starts, but promise to help pay some bills.

A powerful female senator is being blackmailed for an extramarital affair, a voluptuous woman wants him to find her missing sister, and an innocent immigrant is being framed for the series of heinous murders on coeds.

It’s a toss of the coin where to begin, but he is a low-key detective who has a number of close contacts in the right places, such as his local cop buddy, Bart. He takes Coffee Dog with him when he can, though the canine is not known for his service dog training as much as a tail wagging ambassador.

What seemed on the surface to be a routine solve quickly turns dark and even deadly when Goff begins to suspect something much heavier is behind each of these. As matters become more complicated, there are Russian mobsters, dirty politics, spooks, and serial killers to sort with an escalating body count.

Rough and gritty, the narrative careens into the conclusion involving a complex plan with all his friends, family, and support characters. There has been power struggles from those who wield the most money, creating twists and tension, between light-hearted moments, bewildering incidents, and life-threatening moments.

The characters have evolved from Book 1 Mainely Power through Mainely Fear (my reviews) into this installment due to release March 10, though this might easily be read as a standalone.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest opinions.

Rosepoint Rating: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Political Thrillers & Suspense, Political Thrillers, Private Investigator Mysteries
Publisher:

ASIN : B08PKMYY39

Print Length: 242 pages
Publication Date: To be released March 10, 2021
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The Author: [Matt Cost] I write. That’s what I do.

Side note: The Maine Humanities Council just selected Mainely Power as the Read ME fiction book of the year.

2021 V Williams

The Trespasser (Dublin Murder Squad #6) by Tana French – An #Audiobook Review – #police procedural – #TBT

Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Book Blurb:

In best-selling Tana French’s newest “tour de force” (The New York Times), being on the Murder Squad is nothing like Detective Antoinette Conway dreamed it would be. Her partner, Stephen Moran, is the only person who seems glad she’s there. The rest of her working life is a stream of thankless cases, vicious pranks, and harassment. Antoinette is savagely tough, but she’s getting close to the breaking point.

Their new case looks like yet another by-the-numbers lovers’ quarrel gone bad. Aislinn Murray is blond, pretty, groomed-to-a-shine, and dead in her catalog-perfect living room, next to a table set for a romantic dinner. There’s nothing unusual about her – except that Antoinette’s seen her somewhere before.

And that her death won’t stay in its neat by-the-numbers box. Other detectives are trying to push Antoinette and Steve into arresting Aislinn’s boyfriend, fast. There’s a shadowy figure at the end of Antoinette’s road. Aislinn’s friend is hinting that she knew Aislinn was in danger. And everything they find out about Aislinn takes her further from the glossy, passive doll she seemed to be.

Antoinette knows the harassment has turned her paranoid, but she can’t tell just how far gone she is. Is this case another step in the campaign to force her off the squad, or are there darker currents flowing beneath its polished surface?

My Review:

Protagonist Detective Antoinette Conway and her partner, Detective Stephen Moran, begin work on a new case involving Aislinn Murray, whose death is easily and quickly attributed to her new beau by the veteran detective who took lead in the interview. But since Conway was promoted to the Dublin Murder Squad, she has been the butt of practical jokes, harassment, and hostility, partly owing, she attributes, to her being a woman in a male dominated bastion.

Detective Conway is pushing back, however, her gut telling her this quiet, ineffectual man could NOT have been the one to cause Aislinn’s death. She is wondering, however, with the obvious circumstantial evidence, if she is getting paranoid, pushed this one time too many in a bid to find something that isn’t there.

Not my first go-round with the author, I previously read The Secret Place (semi-finalist in Goodreads’ best mystery/thriller category 2016) for a Reading Ireland Month in March 2019—it was 480 pages—and included both detectives. I figured this time I’d try an audiobook. Even at just over twenty hours, I’d make it in time for March.

Tana French is nothing if not verbose—I’m glad I went the audiobook route as that included narrator Hilda Fay who didn’t just read the book, she became Detective Conway allowing the reader to see the rest of the narrative riding on Conway’s shoulder, heart, and mind, hitting the nuances of French’s dialogue and thoughts with depth of emotion, philosophy, and circumspect anguish.

The problem is, with ALL that dialogue, and ALL those recriminations, and ALL those subtle disclosures of the nasty pranks from the guys, the novel tends to lose sight of the story arc and extends exponentially when it could easily have been conveyed in under 300 words. The interdepartmental rivals and pissing matches become a broken record and loses the plot spit and fire.

French does pull all her various threads together in spectacular fashion in the climatic conclusion thrusting home her theory. It’s a hallow victory—sad—unsatisfying. But it’s a win.

Book Details:

Genre: Women Sleuth Mysteries, #Suspense, British & Irish Literary Fiction
Publisher: Penguin Audio

ASIN: B01IQ1MEH6

Print Length: 455 pages
Listening Length: 20 hrs 6 mins
Narrator: Hilda Fay
Publication Date: October 4, 2016
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Link: The Trespasser [Amazon]

Rosepoint Publishing: Three point Five of Five Stars

The Author: Tana French is the author of In the Woods, The Likeness, Faithful Place, Broken Harbor, The Secret Place, and The Trespasser. Her books have won awards including the Edgar, Anthony, Macavity, and Barry awards, the Los Angeles Times Award for Best Mystery/Thriller, and the Irish Book Award for Crime Fiction. She lives in Dublin with her family.

The Narrator: Hilda Fay is an award-winning actress from Ireland who has worked both on stage and screen for the past 25 years. She has performed in Oedipus, Little Gem, and the one-woman show Alice Devine. Hilda’s TV and film credits include Prosperity, Proof, and Whistleblower, which won an IFTA award for Best Drama.